Having agreed on an action plan, Zeroy began taking Patchouli along on missions.
They decided to start with the Gastrea.
Zeroy thought this would be easier.
After all, there was no need to think—just kill every Gastrea in sight.
And so people saw flames falling from the heavens, burning the world.
Patchouli's wide-area magic was perfect for clearing swarms. With Kagari, Zeroy too possessed large-scale destructive power, and the Hercules Base finally came into play.
As a fighter craft, the Hercules Base had impressive firepower coverage, and thanks to its conceptualization as part of Zeroy's own ability—like the Striker Unit—it had effectively infinite ammo and endurance.
Both the Striker Unit and Hercules Base were extensions of Zeroy's body.
Kills made with the Hercules Base also triggered her lifesteal.
Thus, through the night, Zeroy never stopped. Only when encountering Stage V, the Zodiac Gastrea, did the pace slow.
Gastrea were ranked in five stages.
Stage I carried a single genetic factor. Stage II carried two. The higher the stage, the greater the power.
Stage I could grow to Stage IV.
Stage IV was the fully developed form. Unless struck with heavy machine guns or anti-materiel rifles loaded with varanium rounds, they could not be harmed.
Stage V was unique.
Called the Zodiac, they were named after the twelve signs by the U.S. and Japan during the Gastrea War. Now the term was universal. Eleven had been sighted worldwide—Cancer excluded.
In the great war a decade ago, their terrifying might was decisive, pushing humanity to the brink of extinction.
They possessed immense bodies dwarfing Stage IV, armored hides impervious to ordinary weapons, molecular-level regeneration, and immunity to the Monoliths' magnetic fields.
Missiles and torpedoes inflicted only superficial damage, which healed instantly.
And unlike other stages, Gastrea could not grow into Stage V. Each was a unique individual, and once killed, they would never reappear.
For Stage V were the original eleven test subjects.
The Gastrea Virus was man-made—an experiment gone awry, mutated into the nightmare it became.
For example, Scorpio and Libra had once been a pair of sisters.
A child's bicycle could summon Scorpio. Scorpio's head could summon Libra.
Besides the already absent Cancer, Taurus, and Virgo had been slain, leaving nine.
...
Under the dark night—
A dead city lay in silence.
Since humanity's defeat, Gastrea had seized dominion through brute force. What was once a bustling metropolis was now ruins, abandoned and forgotten.
Like scenes from a doomsday film, forests had consumed the city.
Vines coiled around skyscrapers like pythons. Thick branches pierced broken windows and corridors, growing unchecked. Moonlight spilled through, casting webbed shadows across vine-choked streets, as if the city were being digested by some nameless being.
The Gastrea Virus did indeed accelerate plant growth.
Gastrea were, at their core, enlarged, enraged animals.
They still obeyed biological instinct: reproduction, predation, survival. Only, compared to beasts, they seemed to bear a will for vengeance, endless enmity toward humanity.
In this environment, the forests were never silent. Horrific roars echoed without end.
However, from afar, the woods seemed peaceful, even harmonious.
That was before.
Now, an apocalypse had arrived.
A fighter jet from the future screamed over the city. Explosions and fire erased all below.
In minutes, the city once reclaimed by nature was reduced to true ruins before Patchouli's eyes.
Flames towered into the sky.
"Patchouli, why are you here?"
Zeroy landed at her side, the violent blaze around her fading.
The city still boomed with explosions. The Hercules Base continued its work, relentless until all the Gastrea were gone.
As high technology, it had an autopilot. Zeroy only needed to give the order, and it carried out destruction on its own.
"Kagutsuchi..."
Patchouli murmured without thinking as she looked at Zeroy.
"What?"
"Nothing. Just... looking like this, many here would see you as a fire god."
Wielding flames, clad in armor like some ancient warrior, fixated on decapitation...
Yes, very much so.
"Kagutsuchi-no-Mikoto? I've nothing to do with him."
"Mhm. My mana and stamina are mostly drained, so I came to rest a bit."
"Then I'll sit with you. This area's mostly cleared anyway. The stragglers can be left to the Hercules Base."
Zeroy dismissed her Kagari armor and pulled Patchouli to sit with her.
"I hadn't noticed before… you're like this?"
"Like what?"
"Well..."
Patchouli studied her curious look, thoughtful.
"Lively. Passionate. Like a girl."
Especially earlier, when Zeroy had clung to her in excitement.
"...Is it so hard to believe I'm a girl?"
"Heh…" Patchouli chuckled, a touch mocking.
"Wait, what do you mean by that? How am I not girlish?"
"Never mind. How many Points do you have?"
"Changing the subject, huh? Careful, I'll remember this—fifty-five hundred. You?"
"?"
"Only fifty-five hundred? You killed half a million Gastrea? In one day and night?"
"Yep. You?"
"...Nine hundred."
...
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